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Review
. 2018 Jul;10(7):545-551.
doi: 10.14740/jocmr3458w. Epub 2018 Jun 4.

The Use of Serum Procalcitonin as a Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarker in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbations: A Literature Review Update

Nikolaos-Dimitrios Pantzaris  1 , Diamantina-Xanthi Spilioti  1 , Aikaterini Psaromyalou  1 , Ioanna Koniari  2 , Dimitrios Velissaris  1
Affiliations
Review

The Use of Serum Procalcitonin as a Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarker in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbations: A Literature Review Update

Nikolaos-Dimitrios Pantzaris et al. J Clin Med Res. 2018 Jul.

Abstract

Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) are a major complication in COPD patients which can be triggered by bacterial or viral infections, environmental pollutants and other causes. Procalcitonin (PCT), a peptide that markedly increases in cases of bacterial infection, has been extensively investigated as a biomarker in the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment in patients with AECOPD. A number of studies published in the last decade, tried to investigate whether PCT levels can differentiate between bacterial and other causes of exacerbations, if they can be used as a guide for optimal antibiotic therapy and if they can be a tool in the assessment of the severity and the need for further interventions in the management of those patients. This review aims to gather, summarize and critically present all the available data to date.

Keywords: AECOPD; COPD; COPD exacerbation; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; PCT; Procalcitonin.

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Conflict of interest statement

This work was supported solely by Department funds. All authors state that they do not have any conflicts of interest to report.

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